Package and method of producing same



June 7, 1938. R. A. RAMSDELL PACKAGE AND METHOD OF PRODUC ING SAME Filed June 21, 1935 INVENTOR. Robert A .Ramsclell BY I ATTO NEW.

Patented June 7, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Robert A. Ramsdell, Syosset, N. Y., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to E. I. du Pont de Nemonrs & Compan Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaw e Application June 21, 1935; Serial No. 27,825

4 Claims.

This invention will be described with particular reference to crepe twisting. of silk and rayon;

however, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention includes the production of all types of high twist yarn having such weight or denier and such a high degree of twist that the twist must necessarily be imparted thereto by means of throwing machines commonly referred to as uptwisters or silk spinners.

Heretofore the crepe twisting of silk and rayon has involved the following essential procedure:

The silk or rayon, in the form of skeins, was treated, for example by immersion, with a suitable dope. This dope usually comprises an oil finish, an adhesive and a fugitive dye or tint. The adhesive, consisting ordinarily of gelatin, functions to hold the high twist in the yarn and prevents the same from becoming lively after the twist has been set. The oil lubricates and softens the yarn to protect the same in subsequent winding and throwing operations. The dye or tint serves to identify the yarn during subsequent twisting, winding and weaving operations. The treated yarn was then wound onto small spools made of wood or fiber composition with relatively large barrels and small heads. Only a small amount of yarn could be contained on such a spool, hereinafter to be referred to as throwing spool, from whichit was to be crepe twisted, for reasons which will appear hereinafter. In the handling of 100 denieryarn, not more than 1 to 3 ounces could be wound on a throwing spool. These spools were then mounted on suitable vertical spindles capable of revolving at high speeds, such, as for example, 9,000 to 11,000 R. P. M. The spools of yarn were revolved either in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, depending upon the direction of twist desired in the yarn. The yarn is drawn up and away from the revolving spool at a constant speed and wound up on another spool or take-up bobbin which is sometimes referred to as a steaming spool.

The type of machine used to impart a high twist to a fine denier thread in the manner above described is that above referred to as an up-twister or silk spinner. It has been found necessary to use this type of machine for flne denier yarn when a high degree of twist is to be imparted thereto. By operating in this manner less tension and frictional resistance are placed on the yarn than in other types of twisting apparatus.

A fiyer or yarn guide is rotatably positioned on the top of the spindle of an up-twister for the purpose of guiding the yarn from the throwing spool to the take-up bobbin and controlling the tension and the ballooning of the yarn. This flyer ordinarily consists of a horizontally disposed wire having an eye at one end thereof which extends beyond the edge of the top head of the throwing spool as it is important that the yarn 5 balloon around the periphery of the head of the spool without contacting therewith to prevent degradation of the yarn.

The throwing spools as known heretofore were necessarily made with comparatively large barrels and were wound with relatively few layers of yarn. The spool was wound with relatively few layers of yarn so as to maintain a sufilciently small diameter to prevent excessive peripheral or centrifugal forces from being transmitted to the yarn at the high rotational speeds of the spool. The barrels are made comparatively large to prevent the thread from being drawn over the head of the spool without ballooning, or from ballooning at a sharp angle from the spool.

The production of artificial thread has been improved to the point where it is no longer necessary to process the same in skein form. The artificial thread is formed by extrusion of a liquid through a spinneret and collected in a centrifugal bucket or on a bobbin. The artificial thread, so collected, is then processed by washig, desulfuring, bleaching and drying in the form of package in which it is originally collected, or, in the case of bobbins, a package formed from the original by rewinding and twisting. The form of package in which the artificial thread is processed, as above-described, will be hereinafter referred to as the "original package. .It has been found that the artificial silk can also be 36 treated with a suitable creping dope in its original package form, thus eliminating the operation of first winding the same into the form of skeins Consequently, the transportation 01' artificial yam, in the form of skeins, from'the pro- 40 ducer thereof to the throwster, would involve an otherwise unnecessary step of first skeining the yarn. To transport'theyarn in the original package form is undesirable and impractical.

It has been suggested to wind the processed and doped yarn directly from the original package to a throwing spool and transport the mm from the producer to the throwster in this form, thus eliminating the skeining operation. This has been found to be entirely impractical by reason of the comparatively'large percentage of space and weight taken up by the throwing spools. F1u-thermore, the empty throwing spools would again have to be returned to the yarn producer.

In an attempt to overcome this last-mentioned difiiculty it has been suggested to first wind the yarn from the dope-treated original package onto a substantially rigid paper or fiber core in the conventional cone" form of package, the yarn transported in the form of cone packages to the throwster, and then rewound onto a throwing spool. This procedure'is obviously little better than first skeining the same and transporting the yarn in skein form. In this connection it was well recognized bythe art that a cone may be used directly in the so-called down-twister type of machine in which the cone remains stationary and the take-up bobbin is rotated. In an uptwister type of machine, on the other hand, the cone would be rotated at such a high rate of speed that the layers of thread would telescope and be thrown in large bunches from the cone by the centrifugal force.

The applicant has now found that, contrary to accepted practice, a yarn package which may be economically transported and which may be used directly on the throwing spindle without first rewinding the yarn onto a throwing spool, can-be wound from the original package.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved process for the production of crepe twisted yarn from artificial thread.

It is another object of this invention to provide a suitable package of artificial thread which has been dope-treated for high twist, such as crepe twist, and which can be economically produced and transported to a distant plant for direct use on the spindle of an up-twister.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The objects of my invention are achieved, in general, by processing an original package of artificial silk including the treatment thereof with a suitable creping dope, then winding the treated yarn on a substantially rigid, light-weight core by means of a precision winding machine, such as, for example, a machine of the type manufactured by the Universal Winding Machine Corporation and commonly referred to in the art as a Universal Winder. The yarn is precisionwound to form a relatively large package, the total weight of which is at least five times the weight of the core. The package is then transported to a throwing plant where it is directly positioned on a throwing spindle of an up-twister and a high twist imparted to the yarn.

The objects and purposes of the invention will be more clearly apparent by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying illustrations of certain specific embodiments thereof, it being understood that the invention is not limited thereto.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a yarn package which may be directly mountedon' the spindle of an up-twister.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a modified form of yarn package.

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an adapter which may be interposed between a suitable yarn package and a spindle of an uptwister.

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a yarn package and adapter mounted on the spindle ofan up-twister; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a conventional throwing spool.

The yarn package illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing consists of a rigid, light-weight core ll of paper, paste-board, card-board, fiber, or the like, and yarn I! tightly wound thereabout. This core is preferably of uniform cross-section throughout the length thereof so as to produce a package of yarn having substantially cylindrical contour, thus preventing bunches or layers of yarn from shifting on the package or sloughing oil" due to centrifugal force, however, a slightly conical core may be use without objectionable shifting oi the thread.

The yarn package may contain up to pound of yarn and may be as much as 2 inches in diameter. I prefer however a package containing 4 to 5 ounces of yarn and having an outside diameter of about2t inches. The package may vary in length but should be short enough to be accommodated on the throwing machines without alteration. The inside diameter of the core ii is preferably about one inch although considerable variation in this dimension is permissible. The core should comprise no more than about 20% of the total weight of the package, and normally will comprise about 10 to 18% of the total weight thereof.

The core H is wound with the yarn l2 directly from the original package. The winding operation is preferably carried out on a precision winding machine of the Universal type. In the winding of the package the stroke of the traverse is progressively shortened so as to form the pack.- age with tapered ends, the taper being about 30 to '75". The yarn is preferably tightly wound without about 4 turns around the package per traverse stroke whereby to obtain a compact package of yarnrequiring no head to support the same despitethe high rotational speed to which it is to be submitted. i

The package of Fig. -1 has the additional advantage that it may be used to produce either rightor left-hand twisted crepe thread by merely reversing the end of the package which is first placed on the spindle. In the use of throwing spools as known heretofore it was necessary to wind the yarn thereon in a specified direction to make it suitable for production of left-hand twist crepe and in the other direction to make it suitable for production of right-hand twist crepe by reason of the fact that throwing spools must always be positioned on a spindle with the same end down. Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, the same package can be used for either rightor left-hand twist yarn.

Fig. 2 shows a modified form of a thread package having a rigid, light-weight core I3 comprising a cylindrical hollow barrel l3 and a head or flange 33. The flange 38 will prevent sloughing of! of the thread II from one end of the package and the thread may be wound against the flange so that a larger amount of thread may be contained thereon. This form, of package, however, has the disadvantage that only leftor right-hand twist crepe thread'may be 'produced therefrom, depending upon the direction in which the thread is wound on the core.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing, l5 designates a throwing spindle of an up-twister, i8 designates an adapter which may be mounted on the spindle ii to receive the yarn package of Figs. 1 or 2. The adapter It consists of a engagement with the spindle such as, for example, the tapered fit shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The form of adapter described is particularly desirable since it can be easily and quickly formed from conventional throwing spools as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing. The throwins spool barrel 24 is merely cut down to the desired diameter, for example, by turning on a lathe, and the top head 23 removed therefrom. The barrel is then provided with suitable holding means such as the leaf springs H. H

Obviously, the adapter may be omitted, if de 1 sired, by forming the core of such diameter that it may be directly mounted on the spindle of an up-twister.

After the yarn package is positioned on the spindle i5, as shown in Fig. 4, the projecting end of the spindle is provided with a fiyer 20 by rotatably positioning the fiyer bearing II on the spindle in a known manner. The yarn. which has only sufllcient twist to prevent it from opening, is passed through one eye ll of the fiyer and then to a take-up bobbin (not shown). The spindle is now rotated at a high speed, for example, 10,000 R. P. M., and the yarn wound up on a take-up bobbin or steaming spool at the rate of 250 inches per minute whereby a twist of turns per inch is imparted to the thread, assuming no contraction in length.

The following example will serve to illustrate more clearly the steps of producing crepe twist thread in accordance with the present invention, it being understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific details set forth:

Bucket cakes of 100 denier-40 filament yarn spun with a left twist of 4 turns per inch, and which have been washed, desulfured, bleached and dried in the original package form, for example, in accordance with the process described in the copending application, Serial No. 683,896, to J. S. Fonda et al., are subjected to a soaking operation which comprises immersing the processed package for about one-half hour in a bath composed of 27 pounds sulfonated olive oil, 4 pounds gelatin, gallons of water, and V to 2 grams of fugitive dye per liter of solution, depending upon the depth of color desired, which is maintained at a temperature of 120-130 F. Thereafter, the packages are centrifugally wrung by rotating the same about their own axes for about 3 minutes at a speed of about 7,000 R. P. M., and dried. The dried packages of yarn, after humidification or conditioning, in a known manner, are directly wound on the cylindrical core above described by means of a Universal precision winding machine to form a package containing about 4 pound of yarn, and of the general shape illustrated by Fig. 1 of the drawing. The package is then transported to a throwing mill where it is mounted on the throwing spindle of an up-twister and a high twist imparted thereto asabove set forth.

Any desired doping or tinting solution may be used to impart the desired characteristics to the yarn. Furthermore, the doping or tinting solution may be applied to the yarn in any desired manner and at any suitable point in the process.

The comparatively large size of the packag produced in accordance with this invention will permit a long period of twisting per spindle without changing packages. In spite of the large change in diameter of the package from the beginning to the end of the twisting thereof, it

' and the time given by the attendant has been found that the thread tension does not vary greatly and that a substantially uniformly twisted crepe thread is produced. This is partially due to the fact that the end of the package does not require a head around which the yarn must be drawn as is the case with throwing spools. The radius of the flyer need not be so large as to over-hang the edge of the outer diameter of the yarn. Therefore, the centrifugal force of the yarn as it is forced against the fiyer or the radius of the balloon of the yarn is not of such magnitude as to injure the yarn.

The light-weight paper or fiber core used in accordance with the present invention is of cheap construction and therefore is suitable for oneway shipment.

The direct winding of the yarn onto the core from the original package eliminates at least one winding operation I from previously known methods.

In accordance with the present invention a larger quantity of artificial thread can be mounted on a spindle for twisting without increased power consumption.

A relatively large package of yarn can be prepared and wound with more perfect wind than is possible with the use of headed spools such as previously used in the crepe twisting of artificial silk, thus greatly reducing dimculties in throwing per pound of crepe produced.

By eliminating the skein processing of artificial thread the yarn is much less degraded, and

' contains fewer knots, broken filaments, fiuii' balls,

and the like.

The invention is applicable to silk or any type of artificial thread, such as regenerated cellulose thread produced by the viscose or cuprammonium process, cellulose ester or ether thread such as and have a preliminary twist imparted thereto,

the steps comprising precision-winding said thread from the original package onto a lightweight, headless core, to form a package which may be mounted on and from which the thread may be directly twisted by means of an uptwister, said package being economically transportable for long distances, and crepe twisting said thread directly therefrom.

2. In a process for the production of crepe twisted artificial thread from original packages of thread produced in the filament forming operation and which have been purified, dried. doped and have a preliminary twist imparted thereto,

the steps comprising precision-winding said thread from the original package onto a lightweight, headless core, to form a package which may be mounted on and from' which the thread may be directly twisted by means of an uptwlster, said package being economically transportable for long distances, positioning said rewound package on a spindle of an tip-twister and crepe twisting said thread directly therefrom. 3. In a process for the production or crepe twisted artificial thread from original packages of thread produced in the filament forming oporation and which have been purified, dried,

doped and have a pmeliminary twist imparted thereto, the steps comprising precision-winding said thread from the original package onto a light-weight, headless core, to iorm a package containing approximately 4-to 12 ounces of thread.

and which maybe mounted on and from which the thread may be directly twisted by means of an up-twister, said package being economically transportable for long distances. and crepe twisting said thread directly therefrom.

auaass 4. lnz a process for the production oi crepe twisted artificial thread from original packages of thread produced in the filament forming operation and which have been purified. dried.

nomm'r 5., RAMBDELL. 

